Flotilla to paddle downriver, towards a better future

TROY -- Residents along the Hudson River are not likely to give most common pleasure crafts, fishing vessels, and barges a second glance as they pass by. A flotilla with as many as 50 canoes, however, may cause more than a few to stare.

Such a sight may soon be seen on the Hudson River, as a large group of paddlers prepare to embark on a 140 mile journey downriver to New York City -- part of an effort to raise awareness about the first agreement made between the indigenous peoples and Europeans in the New World, which many believe is not only still valid, but still has relevance today.

That accord is believed to have been consecrated in 1613 between the Dutch in the Hudson Valley and the Iroquois, a powerful confederation of native American tribes, to ensure Dutch fur traders safe passage on the waterways of what is now upstate New York. The Iroquois commemorated the accord with a beaded belt, or wampum, consisting of two rows of purple shell beads on a background of white beads. According to Iroquois oral tradition, the belt represents an agreement between the Europeans and the Iroquois to chart separate, but parallel, paths into the future.

"Each line of the wampum belt represents each of our laws, governments, languages, cultures -- our ways of life," said Jake Edwards, of the Onandaga Nation Council of Chiefs. "It is agreed that we will travel together, side by side, on the river of life (...) linked by peace, friendship, forever. We will not try to steer each others' vessels."

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The Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign aims to improve relations between the Iroquois and the European successor governments in America and Canada, put aside a troubled past, and look forward to the co-creation of a sustainable future, as both peoples' paths have become irreversibly intertwined.

In honor and commemoration of the sentiments inherent in the Two Row Wampum, a flotilla of canoes will depart the from the city of Rensselaer boat launch this upcoming Sunday, July 28, at 10 a.m. The flotilla is scheduled to land at its first port of call, Schodack Island State Park, at 4:30 p.m. the same day.

In a symbolic gesture to the Two Row Wampum, the flotilla will travel the 140 miles downriver in two rows of canoes, one line rowed by natives and the other by non-Natives, and will carry with them a reproduction of the original Two Row Wampum. Their journey will conclude in less than two weeks at Pier 96 in New York City, from where they will march to the United Nations' building for International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

"Understanding and honoring the Two Row wampum can improve relations between our peoples and remind us of our responsibilities to the Earth which we all share," said Andy Mager, of the Onandaga nation, who is project coordinator for the campaign. "We need this more than ever."

Along the way, the paddlers will be porting at towns along the river for a series of events that will begin before they even depart. This upcoming Saturday, a send-off celebration will take place at Russell Sage College in Troy. Tuscarora Historian Rick Hill and street performer Signora Bella, among a variety of others, will be speaking and performing during the festival, which will also include tours of the OnRust -- a replica of a Dutch yacht that was the first ship built in New York -- and a demonstration of Iroquois social dancing. Speakers will discuss the history of the Two Row Wampum and challenges that need to be met to create a sustainable world.

"It's not just about culture, it's also about sustaining the river of life, which is the environment," said Kevin Nephew, of the Seneca Nation. Nephew, a Menands resident, is co-chair of the local Two Row organizing committee. As a grandfather, Nephew joined the campaign out of a wish to create a better world for his first granddaughter.

"If we don't do something about the environment and raise awareness without sustaining that river of life, there is not going to be any river of life for any of us in the future," said Nephew. "No matter who you are or where you are, you realize that the future is our children."